Daily Bafflements

• “Your Selfie Sticks Can Go To Hell,” proclaims The Gothamist. They’re not joking. On the eve of Pope Francis’ U.S. visit, the Secret Service offered up their own sermon of sorts—a list of banned items at all papal appearances. Among the culprits: selfie sticks, drones and other unmanned vehicles, umbrellas, balloons, and… “structures”?

• “I do think it might be possible than an alien life form could co-exist with Terran life and the two just kind of pass each other by,” Kim Stanley Robinson told io9 yesterday. That’s certainly bound to spur debate in the science fiction community. Robinson answered questions from io9 readers on his latest book, Aurora, which debuted in July and was excerpted in The Baffler’s latest issue, no. 28.

• Over on Word of Mouth at NHPR, Baffler contributor Ann Neumann answers questions about her latest piece on the Evangelical community’s appetite for Amish-themed romance novels. These “bonnet rippers” reflect the needs and desires of the Evangelical community today. “[Evangelicals] see these books as a way to live vicariously in an idealized environment, where they don’t have to deal with all the sinful and distracting challenges of today,” Neumann notes. “A lot of the social issues that are so important to Evangelicals in our general culture and politics are airbrushed out of the Amish environment.”

• Today is National One-Hit Wonder Day. Ironically, despite the name, this bizarre unofficial holiday is an annual occurrence. Perhaps you’ll be surprised to know that this is not a one-hit wonder.